A suspected shoplifter was arrested late Tuesday night after battling police at the Walmart in Leesburg.
Officers were dispatched to the store to aid Walmart loss prevention staff who had observed 20-year- old Brianna Rose Ledbetter of Leesburg concealing items in her clothes and in a backpack she had picked up while in the store, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department.
As Ledbetter exited the store, she spotted the officers. She turned to re-enter the store, but was confronted by the loss prevention staff, so she dropped the backpack and tried to get away. The officers attempted to detain Ledbetter but she resisted, removing her coat in her attempt to escape. The officers were able to get Ledbetter on to the ground, but she kept her arms under her body while screaming at them.
When the officers were finally able to handcuff her, she refused to walk to the patrol car. As they approached the police car, Ledbetter told the officers that she was not going to get in the car. Three officers attempted to get Ledbetter into the back seat of the car. She began kicking the officers. One officer was kicked in the groin causing “extreme pain.” A female officer was kicked in the stomach while another was kicked in the knee. The officers used a stun driver on Ledbetter which brought her under control.
After processing her at the Leesburg Police Department, Ledbetter was booked at the Lake County Jail. She is facing three third-degree felonies for kicking the officers as well as misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and retail theft. Her bond was set at $8,000.
